Aspire LPP is proposing to build a 70-bed care home on a site in Whetstone, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The site of the scheme outlined in red and (inset) the plans by SM Planning

Plans to build a 70-bed care home have been drawn up to tackle what the developer claims is a growing undersupply of accommodation in Barnet.

The proposed home in Oakleigh Park South, Whetstone, would be designed to provide both mainstream and dementia care for elderly people, including those with the most complex physical and mental needs.

Plans submitted by care home developer Aspire LPP reveal two large, two-storey detached houses would be demolished to make way for the new, four-storey facility. There would be 18 car parking spaces, including two accessible bays, and ten cycle parking spaces provided.

The plans note that while Barnet Council’s core strategy, published in 2012, indicates there is an “oversupply of mainstream residential care in the borough”, the past ten years have seen 21 care homes close and only seven open.

A separate needs assessment drawn up on behalf of the developer claims there is a “growing statistical undersupply of appropriate accommodation” in the borough that is “forecast to grow rapidly” over the coming years as the population ages.

The plans say the care home would have a “high-quality design” that would be “sympathetic to neighbouring development” and “would not result in unacceptable adverse impacts upon neighbouring amenity”.

They also claim the home would have a “neutral impact” on the setting of Grade 2-listed All Saints’ Church in Oakleigh Road North, which was built around 1883.

Although two houses would be demolished, the developer claims the facility would free up housing as elderly people move into the home.

A public consultation is now underway, and residents can view and comment on the proposals by visiting the council’s planning portal and entering reference 23/3369/FUL.

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